Good Trip to Hee Hee Ilahee...

Yes, Hee Hee Ilahee is a real place.  It's a modern (but poorly managed) RV park, nestled about a half mile east off I-5, in Salem, Oregon.  We arrived near 2:45 this afternoon- Saturday.  Other than torrential rains, between Bellingham, WA, and Vancouver, WA, it was an OK day on the road.

Typical rain forest winter weather.

This type of weather is exactly why we Pacific Coast snow birds head south for some sun and heat.  It's not that it is cold, but the wet weather can be trying.  Hey, it does keep things clean and green.  That said, it's nice to break away in search blue skies and shorts weather .

A rest stop check.  It's all good.

We pulled off at one rest stop for a rig check and some lunch.  We had never seen so many vehicles at one time in one Washington State rest stop, in the past.  We believe the high traffic volume has something to do with New Years get togethers.  The traffic was heavy....but it moved well. 

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The swivel wheel is performing as it should.

We drove through Seattle, WA near 10:30 am.  The rain was coming down hard.

Although a Saturday, the traffic was endless.

One fool tried a stupid human trick with his car and almost rammed the back end of our  fiver while averting a semi trailer truck in the next lane.  It was a close call.  I saw it all on the rear view camera and my side view mirror. He was close to losing complete control of his small car.

Portland, Oregon.

The rain had stopped before we crossed into Oregon.  The sun did try to peek through the clouds though.  The weather forecasters, on local Portland TV, predict a somewhat sunny day tomorrow.   We'll see.  We were told the very same thing the day before we left our home in Langley.

Only one exit away from our overnight RV park and the break lights lit up like Christmas trees.  "Oh no", said I. There must be an incident ahead.  And there was!  One car and a van somehow collided and ended up in the median.  The traffic came to a complete halt but, luckily, it didn't last more than about 20 minutes and we were through the mess.

Our spot at Hee Hee Ilahee RV Park in Salem, Oregon.

Our plan was to arrive at the RV park early, set up, unhitch and head off to do a major grocery run.  The office attendant was a nice man - in his mid 70's - who was at a complete loss when operating the computer.  We waited and waited and waited and he kept apologizing for his keyboard finger problems and supposed software issues.  I finally asked if he could assign us a spot and I would return, after our set up, to settle the bill.  I returned, not once, but twice, and each occasion brought no positive result.  I finally paid in cash and asked if he could drop off the change and a receipt once he could figure out the computer.

Jeanette and I then drove off to complete our grocery run. We stopped into a Target store to purchase some wine and beer and, believe this, I was asked, by a young fella, to produce ID.  I laughed....thinking he was joking.  He was serious!  I had to produce ID.  What has happened to good old 'common sense'.  How ridiculous!  No more Target shopping for for me.

Once back at the RV park , we found an envelope that was left at our 5th wheel, with a note offering regrets and an apology.  Earlier, I had also asked to have a propane tank filled and was told that the fella who does this work decided to go home early.  Why?  He just felt like it!  When the office called him on his cell, he said he would not return to the RV park.  Hmmmmm!  I'm told the RV Park is facing its own 'fiscal cliff' and I found out why today.  There is no system, no training of staff and awful customer service.  As a matter of fact, there is no effective management - pure and simple. This is a living example of how 'not to run a proper business 101 class' !

We do like the park for its geographic offerings; long pull through sites, 50 amp electrical service, level concrete pads, easily accessible, strong WiFi, closeness to a large assortment of stores, etc. For one night stops, it's OK for us.  With effective management, this could be a 3.5 or 4  STAR park. We may well look at alternative RV parks on our return trip and with future trips.

Other than that we sorted out the food stuffs, watched the local TV news, made some dinner and ended the evening watching a NetFlix movie.  All is well!

First day complete, we look forward to the road ahead. Tomorrow we will overnight at a 5 Star RV park.  Seven Feathers RV Resort, in southern Oregon,  is a gem.  We look forward to meeting up with Rick and Paulette, from  Rick & Paulette's RV Travels who have reservations there too.  More on that in our next blog.

Thanks for dropping by.